This invention relates to a spinning reel for fishing.
In general, a spinning reel for fishing comprises a reel main body, a leg part extending from the reel main body, and a fishing rod attaching part which is formed at an end of the leg and to be attached to the fishing rod. A handle shaft to which a handle is fixed is rotatably supported within the reel main body. The handle shaft is fixed with a drive gear which is enaged with a tubular pinion gear extending in a direction transverse with the handle shaft and turnably held to the reel main body. The pinion gear is integrally equipped at a front end with a rotor, and passed through with a spool shaft extending in the direction transverse with the handle shaft. In this case, the spool shaft is arranged coaxially with the pinion gear and can move back and forth in the same direction. In addition, the spool shaft is provided at the front end with a spool for coiling a fishing line thereon.
In an embodiment of a spinning reel capable of replacing the handle left and right, the handle shaft extends to cross with the spool shaft in the reel main body such that both ends securely having the handle face to both left and right sides of the reel main body. The handle shaft has a hollow structure, and the shaft part of the handle is inserted into and fixed to an inner hole of the handle shaft to traverse the above mentioned crossing point (the crossing point between the handle shaft and the spool shaft), whereby the handle is detachably attached to the handle shaft.
Incidentally, if the handle shaft crosses with the spool shaft as traversing it, an axial center of the spool shaft is inevitably offset in a vertical direction (in a direction of extending the leg portion) of the reel main body from an axial center of the handle shaft. If the offset amount is large, there occur several problems as mentioned under.
That is, if the offset amount between the two shafts is large, dimensions in the vertical direction of the reel main body become large, so that the distance between the spool and the fishing rod attaching part of the leg portion largely separates, and the fishing line coiled on the spool is difficult to be thumbed.
If the off set amount between the two shafts is large, transmitting efficiency of rotating torque from the drive gear to the pinion gear is worsened. Namely, the more offset the axial center of the spool shaft is from the axial center of the handle shaft in the vertical direction of the reel main body, the larger an angle made between tangent lines in a contacting position (a position of being engaged) of the pinion gear and the drive gear of the handle shaft being coaxial with respect to the spool shaft, so that the rotating force of the drive gear acting on the pinion gear in the rotating direction becomes small (the rotating torque of the drive gear is not efficiently transmitted to the pinion gear) . Therefore, the rotating operation of the handle is made heavy.
In short, in the structure of the handle shaft crossing with the spool shaft as traversing it, it is desirable that the offset amount between the axial center of the handle shaft and the axial center of the spool shaft is small to the utmost.
As a method of making the offset amount small, it is assumed that an outer diameter of the spool shaft or the handle shaft is determined to be small for shortening the distance between the spool shaft and the handle shaft. However, in existing structures, since the handle shaft has a hollow structure, and the shaft portion of the handle is inserted into the handle shaft so as to traverse the crossing point between the spool shaft and the handle shaft, it is difficult to reduce the diameter of the handle shaft while securing enough strength of the handle shaft. On the other hand, since the spool shaft must move back and forth supporting the spool at the front end, a predetermined strength must be kept, so that it is practically impossible to more reduce the diameter of the handle shaft than the existing dimensions.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 205723/1996 if the outer diameter of the drive gear is enlarged, parts of bad influences accompanied with off setting may be dissolved. That is, in case the outer diameter of the drive gear is enlarged, even if the offset amount between the two shafts is large, it is possible to restrain at a certain degree the worsening of the transmitting efficiency of the rotating torque between the drive gear and the pinion gear. But, in this case, inconvenience of the reel main body becoming large in the vertical direction is not dissolved.
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model publication No. 102977/1982, in case the handle shaft is formed only at one side of the drive gear and does not cross with the spool shaft, any problem does not arise about the offset. But, there still exist problems that the handle cannot be replaced left and right, the reel is not preferable for general-use, and being supported by one-side shaft, endurance, gearing property, or strength are insufficient.
The invention has been built in view of the above mentioned circumstances, and it is accordingly an object of the invention to offer a spinning reel for fishing in which a handle can be replaced left and right, and an offset amount of the spool shaft and the handle shaft is reduced without lowering strength of these shafts, so that transmitting efficiency can be heightened and the reel main body can be miniaturized.
In order to solve the afore said object, the invention is characterized by having the following arrangement.
(1) A spinning reel for fishing comprising:
a reel main body;
a rotor rotatably supported by the reel main body;
a handle shaft rotatably supported at opposite ends thereof by the reel main body;
a handle adapted to be detachably attached to each the ends of the handle shaft;
a drive gear mounted on and integrally rotated with the handle shaft;
a pinion gear engaged with the drive gear for transmitting rotating force of the drive gear to the rotor;
a spool shaft extending to cross with the handle shaft in the interior of the reel main body; and
a spool mounted on the spool shaft on which a fishing line is wound by rotation of the rotor,
wherein the handle shaft includes a small diameter portion at a part of the handle shaft crossing with the spool shaft which has a smaller diameter than those of the handle shaft, and
wherein a part of the handle which is connected to the handle shaft does not traverse a portion where the spool shaft crosses the handle shaft.
(2) The spinning reel according to (1), wherein at least the small diameter portion is formed to be hollow to define a through hole.
(3) The spinning reel according to (2), wherein a securing member can be inserted into the through hole from both sides thereof to secure the handle on the handle shaft.
(4) The spinning reel according to (1), wherein the small diameter portion is solid.
(5) The spinning reel according to (1), wherein an outer diameter of the small diameter portion is set to be 17% or less than an outer diameter of the drive gear.